The Great Ducttape War
by Wandering Raccoon
Summary: Link and company discover a weapon like no other they've ever seen. And it's . . . duct-tape? Crack!fic STORY IS INCOMPLETE AND WILL NOT BE FINISHED
1. What goes around, comes around

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda, I never have owned Zelda, and unless something drastic happens, I probably never will own Zelda. But I can dream.   
  
The Great Duct-tape War  
by Skye Dragon  
  
  
Skye's rambling spot: RUN FOR YOU LIVES!!!! I'M WRITTING ZELDA FICTION NOW!!!! Isn't that scary? I think so. But anyhoo, believe it or not, there is a reason behind this story. It is my belief that nothing is good until there's fanfiction written about it. And it isn't real fanfiction until there's a duct-tape war written about it. ^_^ I love duct-tape wars, they're so much fun! *insert evil laughter here* Anyhoo, read, review, flame. Whatever. And if you flame me, then can you send some marshmallows too? Maybe I can dig up the stuff and have some s'mores. . .   
  
*~*~*~*  
  
The moon hung high in the sky, bathing the world below it in soft pale light. Stars twinkled in the dark sky all around the moon. They glittered like jewels, winking at the land and it's inhabitants.  
  
The forest below was quiet. It was just another warm summer night. The air was alive with the soft sounds of cricket chirps and the occasional call of night birds. A light breeze blew threw the trees, creating a gentle rustle. The Wind moved on, gently stroking the back of a sleeping rabbit, then running it's fingers through the lofty grass. The Wind rose back up to tug at tree tops, making them sway from one side to the other, before coming back down to play on the surface of a small pond. But the Wind could not stay in any one place for very long, and it soon moved on. Sometimes carrying winged insects on it's back, sometimes caressing the fur of slumbering animals. Sometimes it was higher than the trees, almost touching the moon. Sometimes it was lower than the grass, moving pebbles. But it was always moving.  
  
During it's journey, the Wind found itself flowing through a small clearing. In the clearing, was a small dot of glowing pink. Upon closer inspection, the Wind found it was a faerie. The Wind curled around her, touching her delicate looking wings, running its hand through her silky hair. Why was a faerie out here at this time of the night? The Wind was curious, but it couldn't stop. It had to keep moving. So, with one last caress, it left her and continued on its never-ending journey.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
The faerie felt the breeze under her wings. It was cool against her lithe body and  
felt good in the heat of the night. She was tempted to follow it, but she couldn't. She had to stay there. She was waiting.   
  
A small sigh escaped her tiny lips. When would he come? She had been waiting there all night! She continued to hover there in the air. The breeze was gone but she could hear the trees rustling. It was very peaceful.  
  
Then she saw it. A pink glow coming towards her. Any Kokiri that might have seen this would have known that the glow was a faerie, but they also would have thought that the faerie was hurt, perhaps with a broken wing, for it moved oddly. It was slower than any other faerie, and it flew as if it had too much weight for it's wings to carry. But the faerie that had been waiting knew why the other was flying like that.  
  
She hurried toward him. "You've got the stuff?"  
  
The male faerie gave a quick nod and then motioned to the bag he'd been carrying. To a Hylian, it would have been a small bag, only about twice the size of his fist, but to the faeries, the bag was quite large. It was the weight of this bag that had slowed the male faerie down.  
  
"I've got plenty. Where are the others?"  
  
"They're all waiting for us at *his* house." The female, floating-pink-glow answered.   
  
The other pink glow nodded again. "Then lets go!" The female grabbed on to the sac and helped carry it. With two faeries carrying it, the bag wasn't so heavy.  
  
Soon the two pink-glows-with-a-bag were in the Kokiri village. All was quiet here. The Kokiri were all asleep, as well as their own guardian faeries. The pale moonlight cast odd looking shadows on the ground.  
  
Moving as quietly as possible, the two faeries soon found themselves just outside of one of the tree houses. There was a group of eight other floating pink glows waiting for them there.  
  
There were excited whispers all around.   
  
"You've got it!"  
  
"So we're really going to do this?"  
  
"I'm glad. He really deserves this."  
  
"Yes, imagine! Bottling all of us faeries up like that. Doesn't he know we have lives too?"  
  
"I agree!"  
  
"That's right!"  
  
"We have families too!"  
  
"We'll teach him a lesson!"  
  
"I bet he'll never try to catch one of us again."  
  
"Serves him right."  
  
"HEY!" The male faerie called. All of the others hushed and looked at him expectantly. "We've got to be quiet. This won't work if we wake him up." He peered at his fellow faeries and when they all remained quiet, he continued. "Alright now. Lets do this before we wake one of *their* faeries up."  
  
There were nods all around and then all ten glows floated up the tree and into the house through a window.   
  
There was only one bed inside the tree house. And in that bed was the owner of the house. He was buried under his sheets and only a few stray tuffs of sun-kissed blond hair sticking out of one end stood to show where his head was.  
  
"We're lucky *he* doesn't have a guardian faerie. This would be a lot harder if he did." One pink glow commented as the bag was set down on the floor next to the bed.  
  
"What about that Navi faerie?" Another asked.  
  
"She's disappeared. We don't know where she went. *He* doesn't know either."  
  
"Shh! You'll wake him!"  
  
As if on cue, the young boy in the bed stirred then and rolled over, turning his back towards the pink glows. All of the faeries were perfectly still until it was obvious that the boy had gone back to sleep.  
  
"Whew, that was close. Lets hurry up and get this done."  
  
With that said, the faeries all began carefully pulling the sheet away from the boys body. That was the hardest part. The young seemingly Kokiri child would keep stirring, and turning over. At one point, he even reached down to pull the sheet back up. He never truly awakened though, and after some time the faeries had the sheet off the bed.  
  
The boy lay there, still asleep, in the moonlight. He must have been really tired when he went to bed for he was sleeping in his same green tunic that he wore during the day. He had taken his boots, cap, and belt off though. He was laying on his side, his golden hair falling in his face. For a while, the faeries watched the gentle rise and fall of his chest and listened to the soft noises he made as he breathed. There was a look of total peace and innocence on his youthful face.  
  
The male faerie then dumped the contents of the bag on the bed. He looked up at the other faeries and grinned.  
  
"Oh this will be so much fun!"  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Saria frowned. Where was Link? He'd promised that he would meet her for a picnic lunch today, but he hadn't shown up. Where could he be?  
  
The green-haired Kokiri paused then and realized that she hadn't seen Link all day. What had happened? A tinge of worry started to grow in her then. Surely something hadn't happened. Link wouldn't have left the forest again, would he? He wouldn't leave again and not tell her good-bye, would he?  
  
No sooner had that thought settled in then Saria jumped up from where she'd been sitting against a tree. She hurriedly packed the lunch back up into her basket and then set off for his tree house.  
  
Dropping the basket at the foot of the tree, she scrambled up the ladder to Link's home. The curtain over his window was pulled to. Forcing herself to calm down, she knocked at his door. "Link? Are you home?"  
  
There was no answer.  
  
Her calm was rapidly slipping away from her, as Saria banged on the door again. "Link? Please answer me! LINK?!?"  
  
Her ears picked up a muffled sound from inside. Cautiously she pressed her ears to the door. "Link???" The noise repeated itself. It sounded like someone trying to talk with their mouth full. "Link? I'm coming in now, okay?"  
  
Saria put her hand to the doorknob and slowly pushed open the door. Light from the sun poured into the room, but Saria still couldn't see much. She carefully moved into the room and pulled back his curtains, letting more light in. She then turned to look at Link's home, and when she did, she gasped out loud.  
  
Link was still laying in bed, his face turned toward her. And the look in his sapphire blue eyes told her that he was NOT happy in the least.   
  
And Saria could easily see why.  
  
Link's body was completely covered in duct-tape from the neck down. It was wrapped all around his body like some kind of evil cocoon. Another piece of tape had been pasted across his lips, effectively preventing him from calling for help. But the thing that caught Saria's attention was his hair. Where as Link had once had beautiful sun-spun blond hair that perfectly accented his bright blue eyes, that was now longer. His hair was now . . .   
  
"PINK!?!?!" Saria gasped, staring at the offending thing in horror. Her horror only lasted a few moments though before the Kokiri was suddenly on the floor rolling around in laughter. Link with pink hair, who would have thought? It was hilarious, and she was soon clutching at her stomach for laughing so hard.  
  
Link, from his position on the bed, couldn't do very much to stop her, only glare at her. And when she saw that, she only started laughing even harder, if that was possible.  
  
Couldn't she see how much this was hurting him? He'd been woken in the middle of the night by large glowing insects dive bombing his face and found himself bound and gagged. His attacker had been faeries too. If that wasn't embarrassing enough, they'd also left him. He'd been laying there all day now, having not eaten anything. He was starving from having skipped dinner last night and having a rather light lunch before that. And just to make matters worse, the duct-tape was absorbing the heat from the day. He was sweating bad. The sweat was making his skin itch and he couldn't scratch it. And to top it all off, the little buggers had dyed his hair PINK! His hair! His beautiful hair! His pride and joy was ruined. All in all, Link was NOT a happy camper. And Saria wasn't making it any better by laughing at him and his misery. An irritated growl began deep in his throat.  
  
Finally, Saria lay on the floor gasping for breath. She slowly pulled herself up and looked at Link. The sight of him brought giggles back to her, but the Kokiri pushed them away and sat down on Link's bed next to him. She reached up and ripped the tape off his mouth.  
  
Link yelped and then shot poison-coated daggers at her with his eyes. "You could have done that a long time ago, you know." His voice was dangerously quiet and full of anger. But it was also raspy from lack of drink.   
  
Saria struggled to hold back giggles before she put the tape back on his mouth. "You know, I kind of like you like that."  
  
Then, ignoring Link's incoherent protests, Saria rolled him onto his back and began pulling the tape away with hands that shook from suppressed laughter.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
to be continued . . .  
  
*~*~*~* 


	2. Don't tick off the pink-haired dude

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda, I never have owned Zelda, and unless something drastic happens, I probably never will own Zelda. But I can dream.   
  
The Great Duct-tape War  
by Skye Dragon  
  
  
Skye's rambling spot: Yea!! Chapter two!! I love this stuff. Anyway, I realized that I forgot to say something last chapter. You see, this story has a rather messed up time line. It occurs after OOT, but before MM. Yet somehow Link is a 10 year old in this story. How that happens I don't know, it just does. That's why it's an AU. Get over it. And on with the story!  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Several hours later, Link sat cross-legged on his bed as Saria pulled the last of the duct-tape from his back.   
  
He flinched, and then turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Is that all?" There was a note of hopefulness in his voice.  
  
Saria looked at his face and noticed that there were pools of tears in his eyes and she could see where at least one painful tear had left tracks down his left cheek. She nodded, her emerald hair dancing in her eyes. She turned away from him and slapped the last strip of tape on an unbelievably huge roll of used tape. She herself was tremendously surprised by just how much tape the faeries had used. There were now ugly red marks on Link's skin wherever the tape had actually touched him. That meant that his arms, legs, and neck looked sunburned, while his torso, and face where the normal shade.   
  
"That's all of the tape, but as for your hair . . ." Saria let her sentence trail off.  
  
Link scowled, his clear blue eyes becoming clouded with intense anger. "I'll get it out." His voice was dangerously quiet.  
  
Saria's eyes widened slightly. She knew Link was very fond of his hair, it was one of his quirks, and the tone of his voice promised pain for whoever had messed with it. "Why . . . why don't you go and see if you can't wash it out at the stream?" She asked nervously.  
  
Link gave her an odd look and then nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that." He sat there silently for several more minutes, the look on his face telling Saria he was deciding just what he'd do when he came across the faeries again. She hastily excused herself and then left Link alone in his tree house.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Several moments later, Link cautiously stuck his head out his door. After seeing that no one was around, he stealthily snuck from his home and slipped down to the stream where all the Kokiri did their washing and bathing. Link hid himself behind a bush for several moments. There was no way he was gonna let anyone see him with pink hair.   
  
After several moments without anyone coming, the Hrulian decided that the cost was clear, and he came out from behind that bush. Quietly he made his way down to the waters edge, and then paused looking into the crystal clear water. He could see his reflection, and he studied it intently.   
  
Link was thoroughly disgusted with what he saw. Not only was his hair pink, but it was HOT pink, almost a day-glo color. A sneer found it's way onto his lips. Finally, Link pulled a small leather bag from his belt, and from it produced a bit of soap. Clutching it in his hands, Link dipped his head beneath the water and then began scrubbing furiously.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
A good while later, Link sat back against a large shade-tree with a hateful look etched into his face. He'd been scrubbing non-stop for at least an hour and a half, and his hair was still the same bright shade of pink. It hadn't even faded a few shades!  
  
  
His sulking was interrupted then by the sound of leaves being crunched underfoot. Panic arose in Link. He couldn't let anyone see him now. Hurriedly he scrambled up the thick trunk of the tree he'd been laying against. Thanking the goddesses that his tunic was the same shade green as the leaves, he hid in a clump of leaves and prayed that his bright pink hair wouldn't make him noticeable.  
  
A few moments later he heard a voice calling out.  
  
"Link! Link!!"  
  
The speaker came into view then. "Link? Where is that boy?"  
  
"Saria! Psst, up here!" Link called in a low voice.  
  
Saria blinked and then looked up into the tree. "Link? What are you doing up there? I thought you were washing your hair!"  
  
Link winced. Did she really have to yell and announce his presence to all of Kokiri? Slowly the young Hero of Time climbed back down from the tree. "I did wash my hair."  
  
"Did it come out?" Saria asked, watching as he descended from the large oak. "Oh. . ." A frown appeared upon her face when she clearly saw the bright color. "I see . . ."  
  
Link snorted. He jumped down from the bottom branch and then slumped moodily to the ground, his lower lip sticking out in a rather childish pout.  
  
"I think there's something else I'm suppose to do to get it out." Link paused, his pout turned into a thoughtful frown. "You know, girls dye their hair all the time." Another long pause. "Saria, you're a girl . . ."  
  
  
The Sage of the forest looked at him, something akin to amusement filling her eyes. "Yes, I am a girl. I hope this isn't the first time you've noticed that." Link blinked and then made a face at her. Saria laughed and then continued. "But Link, you know we don't have dye here in Kokiri."  
  
Link's frown deepened. Saria was right, he did know that. The only dye in the Lost Woods was made from natural things, such as berry juices and such. But that dye was only used on clothing; if put in hair, it would wash off the second it touched water.   
  
"Maybe someone else would be able to help you." Saria was still going on. "What about one of those girls you know from other places. Like Zelda or that Malon girl? And I'm sure at least one of Nabooru's girls uses hair dye."  
  
Link looked up at her horrified. "But I can't go into public with pink hair!!!"  
  
Saria looked at him with pity in her eyes. "If you don't go, then you'll just have to stay here until your hair grows long enough for the dyed parts to be cut out."  
  
Link scowled again. "I want this dye out now." A sigh and then a defeated look came to his face. "I guess I'll go talk with Malon. . ."  
  
"If you'll wait to go until tomorrow, I can get you a cloak with a hood to hide your hair." Saria offered.  
  
Link nodded. "Thanks."  
  
Saria smiled, "My pleasure. Now are you going to come back with me or not?"  
  
Link shook his head vigorously, the pink strands flying up in a fury. "I can't. I'll go back on my own."  
  
Saria sighed, shook her head, and then left.   
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Crouched down in a small copse, he watched the two Kokiri talking.  
  
" . . . a cloak with a hood to hide your hair." Saria was saying.  
  
"Thanks." The misfit responded.  
  
He scowled. Why was Saria talking with him. Him! Link! Link the faerieless Kokiri, Link the misfit, Link the outcast, Link the pest.   
  
Anger built up in the boy's body. How come Saria never talked to him like that? She never offered to do anything for him. Him. Mido the great, Mido the strong, Mido the protector of Kokiri.  
  
The green-haired Kokiri girl turned and walked away, seemingly disappearing into the shadows. Mido growled. Saria never seemed to notice him. Didn't she know that was what he wanted? For her to pay attention to him? The way she did with Link?  
  
Another surge of anger hit Mido at the mention of his enemy's name. Link wasn't really Mido's enemy, not truly, but that was how Mido saw it. If Link was out of the way then Saria would notice him.  
  
Link. A smug smile appeared on Mido's lips. He didn't know who had dyed Link's hair, but he was glad they had done it. Link deserved to be humiliated a bit. Actually, Mido thought Link should be humiliated a lot. With these thoughts in his head, Mido stood up and came out of the copse. It didn't take long for Link, who was absorbed in his own thoughts to notice the new intruder.  
  
"Mido!" Link yelped, startled. "Wha, What are you doing here?!" The faerieless Kokiri demanded.  
  
Mido ignored the question. "I see someone finally gave you what you deserve, eh pink boy?" A cruel laugh followed this comment.  
  
Link gritted his teeth, fighting back a crude comeback. "What's it to you?"  
  
The smug smile never left his face as Mido answered. "I'm just looking after my own interests. But you know, I don't think they did such a good job."  
  
Link didn't have time to respond as Mido suddenly rushed him. The breath was forced out of his lungs as Mido slammed Link into the tree he'd climbed earlier.  
  
For one brief moment, Link saw stars dancing in his eyes. Then he fell over on his knees, gasping for breath.  
  
Mido took a step back, watching his victim with a cruel grin on his face.  
  
"You . . . You shouldn't . . . have done . . . that . . ." Link gasped.  
  
"Oh really? What are you gonna do about it, pink boy?" Mido taunted.  
  
Anger rolled over Link in waves, and the Triforce of Courage reacted accordingly, filling Link with it's power. Mido noticed the mark on the back of Link's hand suddenly start glowing, and then he saw nothing as Link swiftly jumped up and elbowed him in the back of the head. Mido collapsed to the ground, unconscious.  
  
Link took a deep breath, the Triforce mark on his hand dimmed and then went out. Link shook his head, looking at the still body before him. He was a ten-year-old, but he still knew how to fight from the days of Ganon, when he'd been an adult.   
  
Eyeing the body, Link was about to just turn and walk away, when another idea hit him. Mido had picked on Link for all of his life, now it was time to have a little revenge.   
  
Now Link usually isn't the type of person who would seek revenge, but then he also usually won't get angry enough at one little taunt to awaken the Triforce within him. But today was far from normal, and he was already very upset. So right now, revenge was a very tempting idea. And even the Hero of Time can fall prey to temptations.  
  
So it was with a evil gleam in his beautiful blue eyes, that Link set about to evening up the score with Mido.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
The next morning found Epona patiently waiting at the foot of Link's tree house. Finally her master emerged from his home. Link was clad in his usual forest-green tunic, with leggings and leather boots, but on top of all this he wore a dark green cloak that hung down to his calves. There was a single button at the neck, and a hood that was pulled up over his head. The hood was large and cast a dark shadow over Link's eyes. All in all, it was a very disturbing effect, making Link look mysterious and dangerous, instead of a disgruntled boy with a bad hair day.  
  
Epona snorted and shifted her hooves restlessly. Link climbed down the ladder and petted her nose. "Shh, girl. It's alright, It's only me."  
  
Epona tossed her head, her fur seemingly glowing in the morning light. Link quickly mounted her, and then the two took off, out of Kokiri and headed towards Lon Lon Ranch.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
It wasn't for a long while after Link left on Epona, that one of the Kokiri happened to notice a large mass of gray clinging to the underside of a log that served as a bridge over the stream. After a bit of poking and prodding, the gray mass came loose and fell into the water. The young Kokiri fished the thing out of the water and was startled to hear Mido's furious voice coming from inside all the duct-tape.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
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	3. Be careful who you laugh at

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda, I never have owned Zelda, and unless something drastic happens, I   
probably never will own Zelda. But I can dream. ^_~  
  
The Great Duct-tape War  
by Skye Dragon  
  
  
Skye's rambling spot: Okay, I'm going to apologize in advance for all the stuff with the horses. I was watching Black Beauty the other day and when I wrote this I just kinda got in that mood, ya know? Anyway, that's all I wanted to say.  
  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
The sound of her humming filled the barn, causing even the cuccos to pause in their endless clucking and search for seed among the grass. All the animals loved her humming. It soothed them, comforted them. It was something familiar, and it let them know that *she* was near.  
  
Malon of course knew none of that. She simply enjoyed humming. She had noticed that some of the horses seemed to be calmed by it, but anything past that was beyond her knowledge.  
  
So it was that Malon was humming as she brushed out the coat of the pregnant mare. The horse wouldn't give birth for a couple of months, but the soon-to-be mother was certainly feeling the weight.  
  
The young ranch girl smiled. She couldn't wait for the colt to be born. It would surly be the fastest horse in all of Hyrule. She knew this, for she was the one who had paired the spunky mare with the fastest spud in Lon Lon Ranch.  
  
As if on cue, the soon-to-be father came trotting up at just that moment. He certainly was a looker. Malon could see his fit muscles rippling under his slick black coat of fur which gleamed in the afternoon sun. His long legs carried him swiftly and there was not an once of fat on his slender body, a fact that only added to his speed. His long ears were erect as he approached his mate and the white patch of fur on his forehead shone brightly in the waning sunlight.  
  
The slick young spud cantered up to the two females and cockily touched his nose to the mare's nose. The mare snorted and opened her mouth as if to bit him, and then stamped her hoof irritably.  
  
The spud pulled his head away from her and his beautiful black eyes seemed to cloud over with confusion as if to say "What did I do?"  
  
Malon laughed. Mares were always cranky their first time. She gently patted the mare's nose. The spud snorted and reached his head to her and Malon could imagine him saying, "What about me?"  
  
Malon reached out and stroked his silky fur. The horse snorted lightly and the ranch girl could feel his warm breath on her hand. She giggled lightly. "Oh Quicksilver, you're gonna have such a wonderful colt . . ." Her voice trailed off dreamily.  
  
Quicksilver snorted again and licked her hand before he turned and trotted off back into the pasture where the other horses were grazing and playing. Malon watched him go, her eyes following his path. The mare nuzzled her nose into Malon's side. The girl reached out and stroked the horse's nose all the while keeping her eyes on the black stud.  
  
Suddenly the other horses in the pasture looked up. Malon blinked. What were they looking at? Then she saw it.   
  
The mare felt Malon's hand suddenly freeze, and looked up at her master in concern. Malon was frozen, staring at some point in the distance. The mare could feel Malon's shock and surprise. But looking out in the distance all the mare could see was another horse. Granted it was a large horse and it bore a rider and was come directly to them, but it was still only a horse. But something about that horse was upsetting her master. It unnerved the mare.  
  
"Epona . . ." Malon's voice was light and airy.  
  
The mare neighed then, rearing up on her hind legs, causing her swollen belly to stick out. Her front hooves pawed at the air wildly. Something was wrong with her master!  
  
The mare's wild neighing brought Malon out of her trance and she quickly began soothing the upset horse.  
  
As soon as she got the mare settled down in a stall, Malon hurried out of the barn and peered once again into the distance. Yes, the silhouette of horse and rider was unmistakable now, and just as unmistakable was the fact that the horse could only be Epona. Malon could recognize that walk and stance anywhere. And where Epona was, Link was not far behind.  
  
The red-headed girl cast a glance up at the darkening sky. It was getting late. Link would no doubt want to spend the night. And even if he didn't want to, Malon wasn't about to let him go all night long anyway. So it was with that thought in her mind that Malon hurried back into the house, passed word of her discovery on to her father, Talon, and then set about fixing up the guest room for Link to say in.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
The last of the sun had just dipped below the horizon, so that there was only a smudge of bright red left in the sky, when Epona trotted into the ranch. Malon stared at her rider. It was a youth, no doubt about that, but the person wore a dark cloak that hid his or her face, and Malon was unable to tell the gender of the rider. That unnerved her. Who else besides Link could or would ride Epona? A chill ran down her back as she stepped out to meet the traveler.  
  
The person saw her and easily dismounted, catching Epona's reigns in his or her left hand. He or She was facing Malon, but she still could not detect the gender of the person. There was a shadow on the visitor's face cast by the overhanging hood. All that Malon could see was the person's lips.  
  
"Hello!" She called, trying (and failing) to hide her unease with warm acceptance.  
  
A smile appeared on those lips. "Hey Malon!" The voice was familiar.  
  
Hesitating, Malon finally called, "Link?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
The red headed girl visibly relaxed. "You scared me, I didn't know who you were." She confessed, coming off the porch and walking up to him. Epona neighed and reached her head out toward her former master. Malon smiled lightly and stroked the great beast's head.   
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Link was saying.   
  
Malon looked back up at him, and was a bit disheartened to see that he still hadn't removed his hood. Abruptly she reached up her hand to do just that. Link caught her hand in his and pulled it away. "Don't." He breathed.  
  
"Why? You don't look right with it on." Malon said, a bit of her previous fear creeper back up on her.  
  
Link must have seen the unease in her eyes, for he shook his head and released her hand. "I just . . . I don't want to . . ." Despite his words, he did pull the dark green hood back some, just enough that she could see his bright blue eyes, but still hiding his hair. The starlight danced in the ocean of his eyes, but they weren't as bright or as beautiful as Malon remembered. There was some emotion there, something Malon didn't recognize.  
  
Malon cocked an eyebrow but before she could say anything, Talon appeared in the doorway. "Hey! Whatcha you two standing out here for? Come on in!"  
  
Link couldn't fight a smile at the sight of the large Lon Lon Ranch owner. But he shook his head. "I've got to put Epona . . ."   
  
Link's sentence trailed off as he saw Talon shaking his head. "No, no, don't you worry 'bout that. Malon can take care of Epona." And he winked. "She's been doin' a good enough job before you came, I think she can manage for one night. Unless you're gonna stay longer than that?" Talon's eyes implored on Links, but before Link could answer the question, Talon continued on, "Come on in, Link, the night's cold and dinner will be too, if we dawdle out here much longer! Malon, you get Epona settled in and then you come on in too."  
  
Malon grinned. "I will." She took Epona's reigns from Link and began leading the great horse to the pasture, all the while listening to Link's protests that he'd already eaten and didn't need a second dinner. Her father's booming voice drowned out Link's protests, and Malon didn't hear how the conversation ended.   
  
She quickly led Epona into an empty stall and then took off the saddle and reigns and bit. Epona neighed, pushing her nose into Malon's hand. Malon smiled and stroked the great beast's head. "I'm glad to see you too, Epona." The horse snorted lightly. Malon's smile grew, and she began humming to soothe the large horse. She shoveled in more new hay and straw, then filled the water box and the feed box After all this was done, Malon found herself just standing and petting Epona, she hadn't realized that how much she did care for her horses and it was pleasing to her to see them again, especially Epona as the horse had always been one of her favorites. When finally she left the barn, the sky was lit up with a multitude of stars and a crescent moon.   
  
Only now did Malon notice the biting cool of the night air and she hurried back inside the house. Upon entering, she took immediate notice of her father fast asleep and snoring away in a chair in the living room. With a smile and slight shake of her head, Malon left him in search of Link.  
  
The door to the guest room was closed and as far as she could tell, there was no light on. Malon pressed her ear to the door but could find no trace of sound to indicate that there was anything living behind the door. She frowned. Link had come here and didn't want to see her? That was odd. An feeling of disappointment contracted around her heart. He hadn't even offered to play his ocarina for her tonight. That was very odd indeed. Usually when he visited her, the two of them would go outside at night and play with the horses, or dance with the fireflies, or just look up at the stars. (Skye's note: remember, Malon and Link are quite young in this story) Taken aback by this sudden change in attitude, Malon wondered back into the living room where Talon was.  
  
"Father?" She asked. Talon didn't stir. Malon purposely strode to him and shook his shoulder. "Father!"   
  
With a snort, Talon sat up. "Wha-?" He blinked. Then, looking at Malon he regained his composure. "What is it Malon? Is it time to go to the castle already? I must be late!"  
  
"No, no father. It's nighttime now. You won't go to the castle for three more days now." When Talon blinked, Malon hurried on. "I was just wondering where Link got to."  
  
"Huh? Oh, Link." And Talon blinked slowly this time as slumber beckoned to him still. "He said he wasn't hungry and was tired from riding all day. Went on up to his room." At this Talon was interrupted by a yawn. "Very peculiar. Wouldn't take off his cape. Very odd . . ."  
  
Malon waited for him to go on, but the next sound to come from her father was a snore. Malon sighed and then turned off the light before retiring to her own bed. What was up with Link? Why was he acting so strange? First refusing to take off his hood and cape, then failing to meet up with her. Needless to say, Malon was concerned. Was he alright? Was he sick? Did he need help?   
  
Sleep later found Malon with these thoughts still chasing each other in her mind.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Everything was dark. The darkness was all consuming. Nothing escaped from it. There was no light, no smells, and no sounds.  
  
Wait, there was a sound.  
  
It started very soft at first, but it quickly grew. "Malon. Malon." It whispered. Malon struggled to ignore it, but the voice would not be ignored. It grew louder and louder, until it filled her ears to the point she felt sure her ears were bleeding.  
  
  
  
"MALON! MALON!"  
  
She woke with a start. Link stood next to her bed, a puzzled look on his young boyish face. "Malon, are you okay?"  
  
Malon blinked looking up at him. ". . . yeah, Yeah I'm fine." Then she blinked. Link still wore his cloak, the dark hood hiding his hair, but Malon could have sworn she saw a hint of pink underneath there. Shaking it off as an after-effect of the dream, she sat up. "What, . . . What are you doing up?"  
  
Link blinked and then all his concern was replaced by what appeared to be embarrassment. A slight blush lit up his cheeks. "I was . . . um . . .well . . . that is . . . I . . ."  
  
Malon cocked one eyebrow. What was up with him today-er, tonight? Or was it day? Confused for a moment, Malon glanced out her window at the sky. It was still dark, but she could tell that dawn wasn't too very far off. She turned back to the blond Hyrulian who'd finally figured out what he wanted to say.  
  
"I wanted to . . . ask . . .you something, Malon." Link forced the words out of his mouth.  
  
Malon stared at him in obvious misunderstanding. "Why in the godesses's names would you want to talk in the middle of the night!?"  
  
Link's cheeks reddened slightly again. "I . . . don't want anyone else to hear."  
  
Malon was again at a loss of words. This was very odd indeed. But then, maybe here was the answer to her earlier question of why Link had gone to bed without talking to her. Finally she nodded. "Okay then. Let's talk."  
  
"Not here." Link shook his head.   
  
"Then where?"  
  
"In the yard, next to the barn. Meet me there." Link said, and then, before Malon could get out another sound, he was gone.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
The first thing Malon noticed when she stepped out into the night, was how cold it was. It was still early on in spring, and the new sun's warmth wasn't lasting into the dark of night. Shivering, Malon crept bare-foot over the ground, moist with dew. Making her way to the barn, she almost didn't see the dark outline of a person, pacing back and forth before the barn.  
  
"Link?"  
  
The figure stopped and looked up. "Yea?"  
  
Malon exhaled and then asked. "Okay, I'm here. Now what did you want to ask me?"  
  
"It's kinda complicated . . ." Link started. He kneeled down then, and lifted the shade off of the oil lamb he'd brought with him. There was a surprising amount of light from a flame so small. However, in someplaces, the light served only to darken the shadows, Malon noticed, such as on Link's hood and face.  
  
She shuddered with the thought. Link frowned in concern. "Malon? You should have brought something warm with you."  
  
"I'll be okay." She said and then strained to keep from adding 'will you?'  
  
Link cocked his head, looking at her for a moment more before finally he began. "Malon, I know I've been acting really weird lately, and I have a reason for that. I . . . I need your help."  
  
"My help? Link, are you hurt?" Malon's voice took on a worried tone.  
  
"No, I'm not hurt." He hastened to assure her, "But um . . ."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't know how to ask. It'll sound stupid." Link turned his face away from her.  
  
"If you're worried about it, then I'm sure it's not stupid. Now just come right out and say it."  
  
Link hesitated again before finally he burst out with, "How do you get faerie dye out of hair?"  
  
Malon blinked. That was NOT what she'd been expecting. " . . . what???"  
  
Link numbly let his cloak fall to the floor revealing his day-glo pink hair in all of it's horrid glory.  
  
Malon stared at him and the hideous mop of hair on his head for several shocked seconds. Then, suddenly she was on the floor gasping for breath around vicious laughter.  
  
It took Link a few seconds to take it all in. Malon's reaction was NOT what he'd been wanting. When it finally clicked in his brain, anger rose up inside of him.   
  
"Malon! You're not suppose to laugh! It's not funny! I'm serious! Malon! MALON!"  
  
The poor ranch girl didn't hear him over the sound of her own laughter in her ears. Certainly she didn't see when his face turned beet red, which caused his new hair color to look even worse.   
  
Finally, Link could take no more. "What kind a friend laughs at another's troubles?" He demanded into the air, the laughing girl could not answer him. His anger peaked and Link scowled deeply at the girl rolling in the dirt. With teeth and fists clenched, he stalked to Epona's saddle bag and pulled out one of the most fearsome weapons known to man. With weapon in hand, he stalked back into the barn, and, had anyone been outside, they would have clearly heard him say, "Now who's laughing?"  
  
And Malon's laughter was heard no more.  
  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
When Talon woke the next morning (late of course) Neighter Malon nor Link were anywhere to be found. . .  
  
*~*~*~  
  
Skye's end note: YES! IT'S A CLIFF-HANGER! Don't you just hate me now? Hee hee. Well, guess you'll just have to read the next chapter to see what happened. ^_^   
  
P.S. Reviews are better than sugar! (hint hint ^_~) 


	4. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

Okay guys, if you haven't noticed, I haven't updated this story in like a year. Probably more. Anyway, what's happening is that I'm rebuilding my profile. I'm redoing some stories, finishing incomplete stories, and so on. Unfortunately, I've lost the heart and will to finish this story. I have the next chapter partially written out, but it is unfinished, and will not be posted. I will write no more on this story. I am abandoning it. BUT, I would like to find a nice home for it. I would like very much to see it finished and well received. So if there's anyone out there who would like to finish this story for me, then e-mail me and I'll be more than happy to turn it over to you. Or if you would just like to write a chapter for it, maybe turn it into a round robin sort of story, then e-mail your chapter to me and I'll post it and tell who wrote that chapter. Okay? Thanks. And I'm sorry about abandoning it. But don't worry! This doesn't mean I'll abandon my other stories! I'm still working on them! Alright? No throwing rotten fruit at me? Please? ^_~  
  
  
  
-Skye Dragon 


	5. ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE Your Worst Nightm...

Hey guys, I've got another little update for all of you. Now, before anyone gets excited, no this isn't a new chapter, just a new note from me. I've had it posted on my bio page, but I figured that I should probably post it here in the story as well.   
  
I am no longer writing on this story, as said in my last note. However, a wonderful person known as Freezair () has said he would like to continue this story for me. So I've turned it over to him. Watch his profile for the continuation, and let him know how you like it.  
On another note, I've finally got my very first flame! I'm so happy. ^_^ I'm also concerned that the flame may be deleted as most flames on ff.net tend to be. So I've copied and pasted it into this Author's Note to preserve it. It reads as follows:  
  
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Your Worst Nightmare (you_suck!!!@not_a_real_site.com) 2003-03-16   
  
I'm ashamed in you. it's a good story, but you just abondon it. how grown up of you. you leave us with a cliff hanger... but then you tell us, the people who wasted our presios(sp) time reading this and asking for a chapter 5 and it not coming, that you won't post another chapter. a real auther NEVER "Loses the will" to write a story! We wasted our time reading this... this... trash! Ya, trash! some auther YOU turned out to be. instead of reading this trash, we could of been reading a book, or something! I hope you're reading this, auther! I hope my flame gave you something to think about... I hope this and all your other storys are deleated! I mean, if you can finish all your other storys, why cant you finish this one!? One more thing! If your from the U.S.A, then why do you insault Canadians!? I'm a Canadian! if you can insault Canadians... then us Canadians can insault YOU for a change! you should be ashamed. not for the cliff hanger... not for the insaults to Canadians... but for the fact that you didn't finish the story. I hope you are ashamed...   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Now there's a problem, you see, I really want to talk to this happy little person, but unfortunately, he/she did not leave a proper e-mail address. One would think it wouldn't be very hard to type in a correct e-mail address, but I'm sure he/she probably had a very good reason for why he/she failed to do so. So I'm willing to forgive. ^_~ Anyway, If you're reading this, Your Worst Nightmare, here's my answer to your review.  
  
Firstly, I'm happy to say that I am not the least bit ashamed of this or any of my other stories. You see, this is a very old story, from when I first started writing. When an author first starts, they make mistakes. That's how you learn and grow better. I made a pretty big mistake with this story. I didn't plan it out. I was writing it chapter by chapter. That's why I ran out of steam.  
  
Secondly, Your Worst Nightmare, I don't believe you really think this story is trash. Obviously you liked it and cared about it enough to be upset when you found out that it has been discontinued. I don't think you should lie about stuff like this, when you know, in the big scheme of things, how much does one little story matter?  
  
Thirdly, I think you are showing your stupidity when you said, "We wasted our time reading this... this... trash! . . . instead of reading this trash, we could of been reading a book, or something!" My point is, I didn't make you read this. You chose to do so on your own. So how can you blame me? And if reading a book is so important, why weren't you doing that in the first place?  
  
Fourthly, and perhaps most importantly, how have I insulted Canadians? I have nothing against Canadians or any other nationality, and I'm concerned that you think I have slighted your country. Please tell me where and how I did so, and I will correct it ASAP.  
  
Lastly, Your Worst Nightmare, next time you decide to flame someone, here's a hint. You might want to watch your spelling, grammar, and capitalization. It's a bit difficult to take something that badly written seriously.  
-Skye Dragon  
(March 17 2003) 


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